Presser foot for sewing concealed slide fasteners into garments or the like



Feb. 3, 1970 YOSHINORI FUJISAKI 3,492,960

PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENERS INTO GARMENTS OR THELIKE Filed March 10, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR YOSHINORI FUJISAKIWa Wz ATTORNEYS 1970 YOSHINORI FUJISAKI 3,492,960

PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING CUNCEALED SLIDE FASTENERS INTO GARMENTS OR THELIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1969 FIG. 3

FIG.4

INVENTOR YOSHINORI FUJISAKI ATTORNEYS 91w; aw

United States Patent PRESSER FOOT FOR SEWING CONCEALED SLIDE FASTENERSINTO GARMENTS OR THE LIKE Yoshinori Fujisaki, Kurobe-shi, Japan,assignor to Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, Japan Filed Mar. 10,1969, Ser. No. 805,449 Claims priority, application Japan, Mar. 16,1968, 43/21,018 Int. Cl. Db 29/06 U.S. Cl. 112-235 4 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A presser foot for sewing tapes of a concealed slidefastener to a garment or the like having in the sole thereof laterallyspaced side walls defining therebetween a pair of fastener element guidechannels which are partially spacedly divided by a partition memberprojecting downwardly midway between said side walls. Each of the sidewalls has an outwardly curved convex inner face so that the elementguide channels are widened toward the toe and heel ends of the foot withtheir narrowest portions at or adjacent a sewing needle guide holeprovided in the toe end portion of the foot.

This invention relates to an improvement in a presser foot for sewingmachines which is adapted to sew tapes of a concealed slide fastenerinto a garment or the like, whereby the fastener tapes may beadvantageously sewn to the marginal portions of the garment.

Various types of presser feet have been heretofore devised and used forthe purpose of stitching the tapes carrying interlocking elements of aconcealed slide fastener to marginal portions of a garment. In all casesit is essential that such feet be constructed so as to draw a line ofstitching as close as possible to the interlocking elements in order toconceal the fastener completely within a joint in the fabric of thegarment simulating a real sewn seam when the joint is closed by a sliderof the slide fastener. A presser foot in common use to this end isprovided in the sole portion thereof with element guide channels orgrooves arranged straight from the one end to the other of the foot. Thedrawback found in conventional feet having such straight element guidearrangement is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to guide theelement-carrying tapes curvedly along a round marginal portion of agarment. I

This invention contemplates the provision of a presser foot for sewingmachines which is capable of guiding the element-carrying tapes of theconcealed slide fastener smoothly without restriction as to any contourof the marginal portions of the garment along which the tape isstitched.

More particularly, this invention has for its object the provision of apresser foot for sewing machines having in the sole thereof an elementguide channel extending longitudinally throughout the entire length ofthe foot and capable of performing the function of guiding theelement-carrying fastner tapes along a curved edge line of the garmentto which the tape is being sewn as well as the function of aconventional presser foot with a straight element guide.

The foot has preferably twosymmetrical element guide channels one oneach side of and adjacent a needle guide hole so that as soon asone-half of the fastener tapes is attached to the garment, one mayproceed with the stitching of the other half without turning around thefastener.

The presser foot according to this invention comprises a foot having inthe sole thereof downwardly projecting side walls defining therebetweena pair of element guide channels each extending over the entire lengthof the sole,

3,492,960 Patented Feb. 3, 1970 a shank extending upwardly from the heelof said foot, a partition means downwardly projecting between said sidewalls and spacedly dividing said element guide channels and a needleguide hole passing through said foot and partition means, each of saidside walls having a flat bottom face and an outwardly curved convexinner face and said element guide channels being narrowest at oradjacent the needle guide hole.

The novel features of this invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when taken together with the accompanying drawingswhere for purpose of illustration one preferred embodiment which thisinvention may assume in practice is shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the presser foot according to thepresent invention, showing the sole or reverse side of such foot;

FIG. 2 is a partially broken away plan view illustrating the manner inwhich the presser foot guides an elementcarrying fastener tape arcuatelyalong a marginal portion of cloth;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-section taken along line AA of Fig. 2,showing position of a sewing needle relative to the foot and the slidefastener slidably guided therethrough; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the manner in which thefoot guides the element-carrying tape in alignment with a straightmarginal line of cloth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the presser foot generallydesignated at 1 may be retained in operative position on the sewingmachine by means of a presser bar of conventional type.

The presser foot includes a foot 2 and a shank 3 extending upwardly fromthe heel of the foot 2. Preferably, the shank 3 is provided at its upperend portions with a means for attachment to the presser bar of thesewing machine. These portions of the shank 3 form no part of thisinvention and hence are not shown in the present drawings.

The foot 2 has in its sole laterally spaced side walls 4 and 5 definingtherebetween a pair of element guide channels 6 and 7. In the toe endportion of the foot 2, the element guide channels 6 and 7 are spacedlydivided by a partition member 8 downwardly projecting midway between theside walls 4 and 5. The side walls 4 and 5 have flat bottom faces 9 and10 and convex inner faces 11 and 12 which are curved outwardly or flareapare from each other towards both toe and heel ends of the foot 2, as aresult of which the element guide channels 6 and 7 are widened towardthe ends of the foot 2 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. The partitionmember 8 is recessed to provide a space communicating with a needleguide hole 13 formed in the toe end portion of the foot 2.

The depth and width of the element guide channels 6 and 7 may bedetermined by the size of the slide fastener with which the foot isintended to be used. The element guide channels 6 and 7 have theirnarrowest portions 14 and 15 at or adjacent the needle guide hole 13.The distance between the partition member 8 and the side walls 4, 5 atthese narrowest portions 14, 15 is substantially equal to the width ofthe element-carrying edge portion of the fastener tape, or moreprecisely to the width of the tape fabric including the fastenerelements where the fastener has its elements secured on one sidethereof, or to the width of the elements where the fastener has itselements secured astride of the tape edge and onto both sides of thetape as shown by way of an example in the accompanying drawings.

The height of the partition member 8 may also be varied depending uponthe type of the slide fastener used. Where the elements passed throughthe guide channels 6 or 7 are carried on one side of the fastener tape,the partition member 8 may extend as far down as to the bottom plane ofthe side walls 4 and 5. However, if the foot is intended for use with aslide fastener carrying metal elements such as shown in the drawings,the partition member 8 should preferably be terminated short of thebottom plane of the side walls 4 and leaving thereunder a space forreceiving therein projection 16 that are provided at the inner bottomends of the fastening elements 17 so that these projections may notinterfer with the side walls 4 and 5 pressing the tape 18 and associatedcloth 19 against an advancing or feed mechanism (not shown) in a needleplate (not shown) on the sewing machine bed.

Now, reference is made particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4 wherein thefastener tape 18 is shownas being sewn to a piece of cloth 19. Asalready mentioned herein before, it is important to see that the line ofstitching 20 runs as close as possible to the fastening elements 17 inorder to conceal the elements 17 completely from external view when thesewn-in fastener is in closed disposition. The tape 18 and the cloth 19are fed between the foot 2 and the needle plate on the sewing machinebed by means of an advancing mechanism projecting above the needle platewith the elements 17 passing through one of the element guide channels 6and 7. In the operative disposition, the foot 2 has its partition 8 andneedle guide hole 13 disposed invariably on the fastener tape 18, not

on the garment 19. The tape 18 is sewn to the garment 19 at thenarrowest portion of the element guide channel 6 or 7 where the innerends of the fastening elements 17 are brought into a position adjacentthe needle hole 13 so that at all times the line of stitching 20 may beplaced sufficiently close to the fastening elements 17 (FIG. 3).

The row of elements 17 on the sewn-in portion of the tape or thoseelements which have passed through the narrowest portion of the elementguide channel are allowed to advance freely, without being obstructed bythe side walls 4, 5, as they move through the widened end portion of theelement guide channel. This is accomplished without having regard to theshape of the marginal portions of the cloth 19 to which the tape issewn, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the presser foot accordingto this invention is simple in construction as a whole and no closetolerances are required for the curvature of the convexly curved innerfaces of the side walls 4 and 5, except only for the minimum width ofeach element guide channel that should closely correspond to the widthof the element-carrying edge portion of the fastener tape used.

While one embodiment which the present invention may assume in practicehas been specifically described herein above, it will be understood thatthis invention is not limited to the specific construction described,and that various other forms may be devised.

What is claimed is:

1. A presser foot for sewing concealed slide fasteners into garments orthe like comprising a foot having in the sole thereof downwardlyprojecting side walls each extending over the entire length of the sole,a shank extending upwardly from the heel of the foot, partition meansdownwardly projecting between said side walls and defining With saidside Walls a pair of element guide channels, and a needle guide holepassing through said foot and partition means, each of said side wallshaving a flat bottom face and an outwardly curved convex inner face andsaid element guide channels being narrowest at or adjacent the needleguide hole.

2. A presser foot as defined in claim 1 wherein the narrowest portionsof the element guide channels are substantially as wide as theelement-carrying edge portion of a fastener tape.

3. A presser foot as defined in claim 1 wherein said downwardlyprojecting partition means terminates short of the bottom plane of saidfoot.

4. Apresser foot as defined in claim 1 wherein said side walls aresymmetrical with respect to the longitudinal axis of the foot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,909,136 10/1959 Dixon et a1.112-235 2,950,696 8/1960 Miller 112-235 3,349,736 10/1967 Howell l12235PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner

